Intro

Cassiopeia is -the- most active mage/fighter in the game. Her play style relies upon intense, logically thought out aggression.

Her damage output is unlike most mages who are burst and wait for cooldowns;Cassiopeia's damage output is constant. If you are not damaging someone in a fight while playing her, you are not play her properly.

In the sections to come, I'll be explaining with more detail:

Cassiopeia:RoleCassiopeia:How to playCassiopeia:SkillsCassiopeia:How not to playCassiopeia:pros and consCassiopeia:Runes/Items/Masteries
Dynamic item builds through out the matchCassiopeia:Match-ups between different types of championsCassiopeia:Unique facts about Cassiopeia (gameplay related)Cassiopeia:How to play with a Cassiopeia on your team
Things you need to know (how to do)
End

Cassiopeia:Role

Cassiopeia's role in a game is to lead her team through the early game. A good Cassiopeia would know this, and would know what it means. Though it's not hard to understand what it means, I'll explain anyway. You need to destroy your mid or solo top lane. Keeping the enemy under fed, scared and weak is key to leading your team into the late game (if it does get to that point).

Cassiopeia, contrary to popular belief, does scale very well into late game, however this is dependent on your early game. If you can not dominate early game, the enemy AD carries will very soon out-scale you. This is why executing your role early game is crucial.

Cassiopeia:How to play

Cassiopeia is an incredibly active mage. 3 of her 4 spells are DoTs (Damage over time) spells (Even twin fang, constantly using it on enemy champions). Like other mages, you want high amounts of AP on her how ever her constant damaging play style does not require the 5 archangels 1 rabbadons build to instant kill people- she is not a burst mage. She is a fighter that requires survivability. This survivability comes from Spellvamp, as portrayed in the build above. She was made for massive spellvamp, even more so than vladimir, morgana and akali. Such short cooldowns promote this. I'll go into specifics in the next section about her spells.

Cassiopeia:Skills

Deadly Cadence
After casting a spell, any subsequent spellcasts will cost 10% less for 5 seconds. This ability stacks up to 5 times.

Spells are not free, and they're not cheap when you realize how fast you cast them. This passive was intended to mitigate her mana hungry play style, especially in early game.

Noxious blast has two keypoints, its farming potential and its speed buff. Noxious blast allows Cassiopeia to farm very well, early to late game, however I will talk about this in the next section. Keypoint number two is the speed buff that Cassiopeia receives when hitting an enemy champion with noxious blast. This speed buff is crucial to your play style as it helps you maintain a small gap between you and your enemy which in turn lets you continuously cast twin fang upon the enemy.The speed buff from noxious blast also appears as an icon, allowing you to cast it into bushes and onto people who are invisible. If an ion appears, it means you hit someone. Start the game with 1 point in noxious blast and max is after maxing twin fang.

Miasma as said above grants vision in the effected area while also poisoning anyone who passes through it. Remember to cast miasma into a bush you don't feel safe about entering. This spell can also be used to speed up farming however I'll describe farming in the section below. Since this spell slows enemies, it syncs well with your noxious blast which gives a speed buff, combo-ing the two successfully is crucial to your game play.Generally, an early point in miasma is not advisable, however there are situations where it is highly recommended to get an earlier point than usual Those will be discussed in the match-ups section when I decide to add to it.

This is why Cassiopeia is Cassiopeia. Twin fang is the only target spell in the game that can be continued indefinitely, inflict fatal damage incredibly quick, and do it with amazing speed. I think of this spell as a gift to Cassiopeia. I say this because it is the only spell in her inventory that isn't a skill shot, so if you're able to keep a target poisoned, and keep up with them, then you deserve to use twin fang. Get your first point of twin fang by level 2 and max it by level 9. I like to say that Cassiopeia wins by level two because you have your poison and you have your fangs

Petrifying Gaze
(Active): Cassiopeia deals 200 / 325 / 450 (+60% of ability power) magic damage to all enemies in front of her. Enemies facing her are stunned for 2 seconds, while enemies facing away are slowed by 60% for the same duration.

Cassiopeia's ultimate is a make or break the team fight spell, how ever people often take it way to far. As incredibly powerful and helpful it is to stun a whole team or a single person (which get's a lot easier the longer you play Cassiopeia),but it's okay to cast your ultimate even if you don't stun someone, you're still inflicting a high amount of damage which is such a simple concept but something people refuse to see for some reason. If you can't see the 300 hp akali hiding in her shroud, just ult, you don't need to see her to hit her.

Cassiopeia:How not to play

Cassiopeia is not a passive minion farmer, your role in a game does not leave room for you to farm. You need to be aggressive and scary and killing, any other way is just not good enough.

Common builds that are not good on Cassiopeia:

The meki/potion starter:
Not enough damage, it also means you're rushing a tear of the goddess. This is bad, absolutely bad; even though I add an archangel in the build, I do not rush it as some people do. Buying a doran ring allows for just a little bit more in survivability, it gives you some mana regen and it gives you ap which you need for that early game damage.

The boots/potions starter:
This is okay for a few reasons- Having boots for one and it syncs with noxious blast. However, it still lacks that flat ap which you need early game. If your rushing sorcs, keep in mind they are not as crucial on her as other mages like kassadin annie or karthus. As magic pen is great on any mage, Cassiopeia benefits a lot more off flat ap in the early game.

The mana crystal/potions starter:
You're rushing a Rod of the Ages. No, her survivability does not come from hp, it comes from high spellvamp. The more hp you have, the less ap you have.

Amplifying tome starter:
This is okay for two reasons- the flat ap you need, it allows for a quicker build into spellvamp. However I tend to stay away from this as it lacks mana regen and extra early hp granted from the dorans ring.

Lich bane Cassiopeia: Your goal as Cassiopeia is to kite enemy champions and apply massive damage constantly, at no point or time should you have to get in range to throw an auto-attack, that's just rediculous. She's not like kassadin or shaco or ap tf. Just don't get a lich bane.

Anything that is not a dorans ring or amp tome starter is not good.

When I figure out to, I will embed a video displaying the multiple play styles people tend to use, as well as using my own play style and I will be comparing them in real matches.

Cassiopeia:pros and cons

Pros:
-Strongest early game mage in the game, allows you to keep others weak while you scale into late game.
-The feeling you get when you destroy someone.

Cons:
Note; most of these cons are really geared towards the actual player not so much the champion
-Very steep learning curve
-Must be playing with all spells on smart cast. Smart cast allows for a much more efficient sting of twin fang casts as well as accurate and precisely timing for other spells. This is only recommended when you have player her a lot and know by heart the ranges of her spells.
a)Default smart cast is set to pressing shift+q/w/e/r. I don't like this and simply set all my spells to q/w/e/r, so instead of having to click, I just hover over an area and press the spell. To learn more about smart cast and how to set it up use this awesome site called Google.
-Cassiopeia is squishy, but as I said her survivability comes from spellvamp not hp.

Cassiopeia:Runes/Items/Masteries

Those are at the top of course. However I have two builds for her, the first one is what I use at the moment. The second one is theoretical, based off the new buffs and nerfs to summoners spells as well as personal experience.

You'll realize that my runes and masteries are geared towards flat ap. The more flat ap early game, the more damage you have and the faster you can get kills. You might be arguing for magic pen vs people who use cheesy pure resists runesets but my experience in terms of fighting those people is me winning. Their effective hp with resists is not that much, it'll take a bit longer to kill using twin fang and noxious blast but you can still do it.

I'd like to note that my item builds and rune-sets are not that of a conventional build. However I choose these specifically for Cassiopeia because it works for me.

With the new update to masteries, I can start 57ap with a ring or 62ap with a tome. It's this flat ap early game which compliments her role in the early game.

5 Levels of builds through out the match

I've only realized recently that you need 5 levels of builds, each for certain points within the game. The build above is level 1, it's for the early game up to when ads are starting to do damage.

Level 2 Build:
Level 3 Build:

Level 4 Build:

Level 5 Build:

You'll notice level 3-5 are very similar and have redundant items and lack boots at level 4 and 5, they also have 5 items rather than 6.

1.) The reason they have multiple deathcaps is for the flat ap. I know its passive doesn't stack

2.) The reason for the lack of boots is basically, at this point in the game, you are fed and have no real reason to leave base unless you are with the rest of your team.

3.) The reason for 5 items rather than 6 is because, if you are doing very well, you can buy a mejais (at any point in the game really). If you tend to get focused, by a guardian angel and when it gets used, sell it, then buy it back when it has cooled down. You can also substitute a deathcap for a zhonyas or something to that really helps in terms of survivability.

Just keep in mind that Cassiopeia's main survivability comes from spellvamp and that hp reduces ap which reduces her power. So if you do decide to alter the build later into game, make sure to buy high ap items and keep at least 40% spellvamp. Always remeber to buy elixirs when you finish a build.

Don't feel obligated to follow these builds. If it comes to the point where the enemy team is so tanky that you do no damage- ditch the spellvamp, get more in pen or other forms of survivability. However your 60+ minute late game should consist of 5 archangels and 1 rabbadons. It's at this point, like I said above somewhere, that you are finished and can only renew elixirs, you go with your team and never travel alone. you always stay behind your team as your ultimate is going to be the winning or losing move.

Cassiopeia:Match-ups between different types of champions

I had the idea that I'd do match-ups for each and every champion, only to realize that's just way too tedious. Instead I'll do sections relating to groups of champions.

Champions or people who play passively (farm).
These people want to ignore you and hope you ignore them. You can't let that be, let them know you're there and that you're going to kill them if they pass that line in front of their turret.
These people are easy to play vs and tend to be very boring as killing them is easy. Sometimes they will just turret hug or even switch from mid.
Some related champions: Veigar

Champions or people who are aggressive.
Get an early point in W but always max E. Early W always you to control certain arrows of the lane that you might not feel as comfortable with. Aggressive people tend to walk into Q and W granted you lead them into it. They often turn around giving up pursuit. That is the time to strike. Don't be afraid to take damage, as they will turn around to engage you. In the early game Cassiopeia has the advantage.
Some related champions: Karthus, Annie, Anivia

Champions that can jump near you or onto you.
Early point in W is crucial here. What you want to do is place W onto of you so that when someone jumps to you, you don't have to go through the hassle of trying to hit Q on them, they will just poison themselves by jumping on you. Cast W where you think someone might jump to if lets say they are LeBlanc.
Some related champions: Akali, Katarina, LeBlanc

Champions who have abusive range.
An early point is also advisable for these match-ups as it gives you control over portions of the lane. If you are fighting champions like these remember to stay outside of their range, what this will do is cause them to walk forward, commit to casting the spell and walk forward into your Q or W. Knowing that their key spell is on cooldown allows you to counter attack.
Some related champions: Brand, Orianna

Ad ranged champions.
These tend to be a joke as ad ranged have less power early game than you do. Ashe may be annoying since she can kite very well, same goes for caitlyn but generally they must farm early game in order to be good late game, your job is to stop that early game so you can stop their late game.

Melee/Jungler/Bruiser champions.
We've all gotten these mid some point in our life, maybe even lost to one or two and wonder "why" when they are not ranged and I am. As they tend to be more tanky that most mids, they can take q bit of damage. Playing vs them really comes down to knowing how to play vs them in general.

---I'll finish tomorrow or some day, I'm really tired atm and I don't even know if what I typed is even comprehensible.

Cassiopeia:Unique facts about Cassiopeia (gameplay related)

-Cassiopeia with 60% spellvamp and 300+ ap can solo baron, how ever I prefer to do it at 400+ ap.
Keypoints of soloing baron:
You must have 60% spellvamp
You must have an archangels that has been fairly farmed up
You must have blue buff
Pink ward baron just in case.Cassiopeia can solo baron as early as 15-20 minutes if you finish build level 1, but don't expect enemy teams not to ward that early.

When I figure out and If my ****py computer can handle it, I'll record a video of it and post it. If you know how to clip scenes from a replay made by LoLReplay, tell me as I have it.

-Cassiopeia is an early dragon threat as she can solo dragon when she gets her WoA (Will of the Ancients).

-Cassiopeia can solo blue buff the moment you have a hextech revolver.

-Cassiopeia's passive syncs well when your farming your archangels/tear of the goddess. What you want to do when you get either of those is get blue buff and continually cast noxious blast every cooldown, while doing this you maintain 5 stacks of your passive, saving you 50% of your mana in case you get into a skirmish. This is hard to remember if you are new to playing Cassiopeia but if you remember to do it you will get used to it over time and it will become a subconscious action.

Cassiopeia:How to play with a Cassiopeia on your team

Cassiopeia can not duo lane, the aggression required does not sync well with 99% of the champions as well as the play styles of other people, she needs mid or solo top.How ever I found that if you take a solo top against a team with out a jungle, she can do very well as generally one of the teammates will attempt to zone you while the other farms. This counter aggression ends up in favor of Cassiopeia as she basically gets a free chance to assert dominance on one champion, which leaves the other enemy champion to deal with and being as her early game damage is incredible, it's pretty easy to assert dominance over a 2v1. In the case that someone comes right up to your tower, make sure they die. No one should be able to insult a Cassiopeia as to come up to her tower, hit it and think they can get away from miasma slowm, speed buffed Cassiopeia from noxious blast and flee the range of twin fang.

If you are a jungler, and you do not have mana problems or you just don't have mana, give blue to Cassiopeia.Really, even if there is no Cassiopeia on your team you should be giving the mage the blue, the only exceptions I can think of at the moment is Udyr/Alistar/Amumu/Olaf/Master Yi who really need blue buff, but if you're an energy champion or your name is Xin Zhao, especially Xin zhao- someone who only needs 300 mana from level 1 to 18; give your mage the blue.

Do not neutralize Cassiopeia's role by feeding the enemy AD. A really good Cassiopeia player can deal with fed AD's but it's just a bit harder than what's really necessary.A good Cassiopeia however should be gank the top and bot lanes in order assert dominance upon the whole team, and keep them weakened. A Cassiopeia gank should go as this- start from the bush and try hitting a noxious blast on an enemy champion, try getting at least 1 twin fang off before leaving the bush and then proceed from the bush while casting twin fang and noxious blast.

Things you need to know (how to do)

Leading- Leading is the action of casting a skill in the enemy's predicated movement. This is a crucial skill to playing Cassiopeia is 2 of her spells are key skill-shot spells. Also, being able to maintain noxious blasts speed buff by leading noxious blast allows you to maintain the range of your twin fang and it's cooldown reduction effect when cast upon poisoned targets.

Inevitably, team fights start as two balls going head to head or someone getting caught out of position. If the enemy team is balled up, a good Cassiopeia will constantly look for the chance to stun them with her ult. Be just as aware as Cassiopeia as it could happen in a split second. It's crucial that you don't derp when this happens.

People in the game disagree 100% with me on the spellvamp idea, they can do that of course but they're just stupid. The early early early spellvamp for Cassiopeia just makes it that much easier when you're being aggressive, because face it, you're going to take damage, and if you heal from spellvamp than it allows you to continue to be aggressive.

Many whole team stuns from Cassiopeia end up being because someone get caught out of position on your team and they end up fleeing with barely any hp. As your teams mental state is to run and the enemy's mental state is to chase, the enemy tends to ball up, an ideal position for Cassiopeia. Be aware at these times and be prepared to turn around as the enemy team is about to stop dead.

End

Thanks for reading this guide, this is actually a revision as I had an epiphany yesterday. I will have updates to this guide like the match-ups section.

If you have any recommendations on ways to make this guide less of an eye sore to people, please share. I'm still getting used to this editor and the site.